According To Elle Magazine, 'North Korean Chic' Is All The Rage For Fall 2013

We’ve always known that the fashion industry is on a different page (see: using teenagers to model clothes for 30-year-olds, all of Lady Gaga’s praiseworthy outfits), but we were quite stunned when well-respected Elle magazine blurred the lines between trendy and offensive.

Showcasing camouflage pants and brass buckles, ‘North Korea Chic’ is less about nuclear weapons and more about a “take no prisoners tailoring,” according to Elle’s creative director, Joe Zee.

And by “take no prisoners” is he referring to North Korea’s well-known practice of kidnapping innocent civilians and holding them hostage for decades at a time?

Why not just call the army jackets and tailored pants 'Military Chic'? In his description of the style, Zee suggests that ‘North Korea Chic’ is like military-themed fashion trends, only “edgier, even dangerous.” Well, we would certainly think so!

Look, we understand that it's fashion and all, and we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously - yada, yada - but this just feels borderline inappropriate and unnecessary. Seriously, Elle mag, why go there?

What does this mean for the future of fashion trends? Will we start pulling facial hair inspiration from Hitler and stylish headwear looks from the Taliban? Those seem absurd, but so is Elle’s military comparison to North Korea.

Via: The Washington Post, Photo credit: Getty Images